Aftermath
by deathstarcakewalk
Summary: ObiSiri. The Clone Wars have ended, and Palpatine is dead. When ObiWan and Siri arrive back on Corusant, they start to form a relationship. Can Siri open up to ObiWan about what happened to her during the last month of the war?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hullo everyone, and welcome to The Aftermath! This is another Obi/Siri fic. I'll be updating Away later on this week, but I wanted to start something fresh for the summer.**

**Disclaimer: Characters belong to Lucasfilm and Scholastic. The rating is for violence in later chapters, including disturbing conversations.**

**----**

It couldn't be him.

It couldn't. He was smiling. Laughing. I hadn't seen Obi-Wan smile in three years.

He stood at the bottom of the ramp, wrapped in a hug with Garen and Bant. Tears streamed down their faces, purging their minds of the impurities of the pain they had suffered. They were happy to see each other alive.

The other passengers walked passed me. I remained there, staring, transfixed. A breeze made me pull my robe tighter around me. It irritated the cuts on my face. It stung my parched lips. I pressed them together, apart, together again. I breathed deep breaths for the sake of breathing. I hadn't slept in over 30 standard hours. Every one of my muscles ached from exhaustion. I trodded down the ramp way as the braces on my legs gave me an erratic, slow movement. He saw me. He stopped smiling. He looked puzzled, like a small child.

Garen and Bant stepped away from him, exchanging a smile with one another. I was only three feet from him when he stretched out his arms and lunged toward me. I collapsed into them, clutching onto his shoulders as though he'd disappear if I didn't. Violent sobs shook my body. I buried my head under his chin, lost in the safe oasis of his embrace. I don't remember what he said. But I remember that every word, whether three or three-thousand, passed in warm, steady eons. My legs couldn't support me anymore, and he tightened his grip around me as I started to slip. He picked me up, holding me, reassuring me.

"It's over, Siri. It's over. You're home."

The next hour passed by in a blur. I remember being carried in his arms, going in and out of sleep. I protested when I realized that he was laying me on a bed in the Healers'. I sighed, reaching out for him. He gave me a sad smile and gripped my hand.

"The Healers need to look you over."

"Obi-Wan, no -- please -- just stay."

He furrowed his brow. I never acted like this.

"I'll stay. Don't worry."

The Healers put me on an examing bed giving enough comfort for me to fall asleep from time to time as we waited. I was by no means the only Jedi who needed to be examined. Eventually, Healer Cleye and Healer Pol'ne arrived. I groaned inwardly as they started to remove the makeshift braces and bandages on my legs. I heard Obi-Wan stifle a gasp as he looked at them. They were gnarled, missing pieces of flesh and muscle. In some places, the deep, wide cuts were barely above the bone. Tears filled the corners of my eyes as they were exposed to the air. They felt raw and gutted. The Healers exchanged hushed and low sentences with each other.

A pause filled the room. I looked to Obi-Wan. He squeezed my hand harder.

"Well," Healer Cleye awkardly began, "How did you get those braces on there is the first place?"

I drew in a breath. "I used some leaves and branches that I could find. I fastened them as tight as I could with a bunch of wild straw."

Healer Cleye nodded. "There is considerable damage, but they will heal. What other injuries did you obtain during Sullust?"

"None," I lied. "They were injured just before the news of Palpatine's death reached us. I just have some cuts and bruises."

I looked toward Obi-Wan. He knew I was lying. His eyes bore down into mine. I looked away quickly.

"We're going to get you into some bacta casts, and you should be free to go in a few hours. Can you have someone stay in your quarters with you?"

I bit my lip. "Obi-Wan?"

"Of course, Siri. You don't even need to ask." He smiled, but still gazed at me suspiciously. Thankfully, the Healers left at that moment to get the supplies they would need.

I sighed. I knew he was still staring at me.

"Siri, please tell me what happened." He sat on the edge of the examing bed and placed his arm around me.

My eyes watered. "Not here. When we get to my quarters, we can talk."

Satisfied, he kissed my forehead.

I smiled. "You're being rather affectionate."

His eyes widened, and he immediately looked down at the floor, embarassed. He blushed. The powerful Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi actually blushed. "I missed you. I missed all of us."

"You're certainly not cuddling with Master Windu," I pointed out. He grinned.

"Maybe I missed you differently."

"Differently?"

"Yes, differently." He focused his eyes on some far away spot in the room, suddenly serious. "Sometimes, I feel that my Force-bond is different with you than with the rest of the Jedi."

How long had he been wanting to say that? As long as I had? My voice grew disturbingly soft. I wasn't sure of what I was saying, but I was saying it. "Sometimes, I feel the same way." I curiously looked up into his eyes. I wanted to see his reaction. Ol' Oafy definitely looked shocked. He started to say something, right as Cleye and Pol'ne walked back in.

I gasped in surprised when they each took one of my legs into their gentle hold and began to set the bandages. Obi-Wan and I looked at each other for what seemed to be the first time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hey SW peers. Thanks for all your reviews. Here's the next chapter.**

Aftermath -- Chapter Two

----

Unsteadily, I pushed off from my examing bed and leaned onto my new crutches. I began to walk in a small circle around the bed. My steps were slow and short, but it beat having vegetation wrapped around my legs.

Healer Cleye nodded. "You know that usually we would recommend a hoverchair, but I'd like to have you strengthen your legs as much as possible."

"I agree," I nodded. "I'll be anxious to return to sparring soon."

Obi-Wan smiled. "Ready to go?"

"More than you can imagine."

---

We decided that I would spend the night at Obi-Wan's quarters instead of mine. Obi-Wan had already been back on Corusant for a day, and it would give Ferus our quarters all to himself. The walk from the Healers' to the apartments was a myriad of friends we hadn't seen in months, or even years. Jedi were celebrating in every corner of the Temple. The Sith had been destroyed, and the Republic was to be restored to its former glory. Many of the Order's mandates were being changed or altered, to grow along with what was being hailed as the New Republic.

Obi-Wan and I finally arrived back in his quarters. Anakin was in the process of moving fully to Senator Amidala, his wife's, apartment.

"Padme has no idea how much junk Anakin had accumulated," Obi-Was mused as he pushed one of the many boxes filled with spare droid parts out of our way.

I laughed. "Is he over there tonight?"

"Yes," he said. He scratched his beard. "It'll be odd for him to live there from now on."

I sighed. I knew how much Obi-Wan would miss Anakin. We were alone for the first time since our conversation in the Healers'. I sensed that Obi-Wan definitely wanted to talk, and as he fumbled around for kaffe, I knew that he felt as nervous as I did. I left him in his kitchen and walked over to his couch. I sat down and tried to calm myself with no avail. I gently kicked each leg out in front of me over and over. It took me a few seconds to realize that Obi-Wan had sat down with me, focused on my legs.

His words came tumbling out like a waterfall. "I want to know what happened. And don't tell me that those are the only injuries."

I suddenly felt like a small child. Of course I knew that we were going to talk about it -- but I had no idea how. Obi-Wan wrapped his arms around me and pulled me toward him. I looked up into his face. He looked as scared as I did.

"Siri, I know it must have been bad. But please let me help."

I rested my head on his shoulder. He gently ran his fingers over my forehead and through my hair. Tears began to spill onto his tunic. They turned into a complete torrent as I continued to cling to him. I threw my arms around his neck and held him tighter.

He kissed my cheek. "I'm sorry, Siri... you need to sleep. I'm sorry that I upset you," he said softly.

"No," I said suddenly. "I need to get it out. Please."

"All right, then." I felt our bond pulsating with trust and support. He mentally urged me on. He let go of me, and I sat up straight. I wringed my hands.

"It was only a day after we got to Sullust. Windu had told us to be careful, because the natives were extremely against our involvement in the war. They had made threats against everyone, they wanted us off the planet. I was out scouting, and I got separated from the group. I didn't panic, I wasn't worried. But I knew something wasn't right. I could feel someone behind me. There were two of them, and they came out of nowhere. I started to scream, but they had something, a rock, maybe, I don't know. I was knocked out."

I took a deep breath. "I only remember waking up in some cell. I couldn't see a thing. Someone... someone started slapping my face. I'd been in this kind of trouble before, right? But I felt so different."

I started biting my lip. "They didn't ask me anything. They would just disappear, and I'd hear them yelling at each other. Then, finally, one of the women asked my name. I didn't say anything. She told me... she told me that the natives didn't want the war on their planet. I knew that. I knew their people were dying in all the destruction... they couldn't help it, we couldn't help it. We wanted to help them, but we couldn't. She told me that they were going to make an example out of me, so that we'd all leave."

I slowed down enough to feel Obi-Wan's Force signature brushing my mind gently. "She, oh... Force. She told me that if I told them where our camps were set up, they wouldn't hurt me." I snorted. "Yeah, right. As though I'd give up my friends for negotiations that weren't even true. I still wasn't saying anything. She was carrying something with her. I couldn't see what it was, but she was pulling something out of it. It was a rag. I assumed that she was just going to make me pass out." Obi-Wan gripped my arm slightly tighter. "It was some kind of acid. She just... sprinkled it on me at first. I started screaming. Then there was more, and more, and then, more on my legs..." I stopped again, concentrating on the unsteady breaths I was taking. "I was in so much pain. I couldn't stop screaming. I didn't notice that she left, and two of the guards came in. They -- they ripped off my shirt, and grabbed at my pants--"

"Oh, kriffing SITH."

Obi-Wan's voice was a choked whisper. I didn't hear him at first. I looked up. Tears were streaming down his face. I gently reached my hand to his face and cupped his cheekbone. I wiped away moisture clinging to his eyelashes. His eyes were shut, as though in pain.

"Siri, they -- raped you."

"Yes."

"Force." His voice was pained. "Oh, Force, Siri-- I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, Siri..." He pulled me into a tight embrace. We held on to each other for what seemed like lifespans of the entire galaxy.

Five minutes later, I was falling to sleep in his bed with his arms embracing me. Obi-Wan rubbed my back as I fell into a deep sleep that I hadn't experienced in months. I knew I wouldn't have nightmares, and I noted that his bed was very comfortable.


End file.
